The Leader's Hero
by Kat Warrior1
Summary: Duke is wounded in battle, and Wildwing naturally blames himself. But Duke isn't about to let Wildwing go down guilt road. A one-shot fic, and not slash. No couples, in fact. My first MD:TAS fic, and I hope you all enjoy it!


The Leader's Hero  
  
Kat Warrior  
  
A/N: OK, I don't know how many times I can emphasize this, but I don't write slash or yoai. This story is no exception. As a matter of fact, there are NO couples in this story, so just kick back, relax, and enjoy!  
  
Copyrights: Everyone belongs to Disney. No fan characters yet…  
  
***  
  
Wildwing flinched as the whole scene passed through his mind again. He had been blocking fire with the shield generated from his glove. He'd though that there had been no one behind him, but he also hadn't noticed that he'd strayed quite far from the wall he'd been against. His head had turned abruptly when he heard a sharp grunt. Duke was crumbling to his knees, his eye squeezed shut and his sword lying on the ground. His hand firmly grasped his chest near his heart. Blood was streaming through his fingers and down from a wound.  
  
"Duke!" Wildwing cried out desperately as he knelt beside his fallen comrade, using the shield to protect them both. What should he do? He didn't know. But he had to decide quickly, as Duke was fading from consciousness and likely life.  
  
After calling loudly for his team to re-group, the young, white duck had turned back to Duke.  
  
"Why?" he had managed to ask, his voice cracking.  
  
"Always protect your leader…" Duke had managed before closing his eye and letting his head fall to the floor.  
  
Now Wildwing sat in the entertainment room, ignoring the sounds of the large TV that Nosedive had insisted on turning on. He was probably trying to relax himself just like the rest of them. They were all worried about Duke. He'd taken a hard blow to the chest, but Tanya had informed them that it didn't look like his heart had been hit.  
  
Tanya was taking care of him now, having forced them all to wait somewhere besides the infirmary. She needed to concentrate, after all.  
  
Everyone looked up when the tall, blonde female entered. She hadn't changed out of her medical uniform, and was just taking her mask off. She had a pair of gloves on, but they'd obviously been washed, as they lacked blood stains.  
  
"Come and see him," she suggested. "He woke up just as I finished and he hasn't stopped asking if you're all OK since."  
  
"What's he worried about us for?" Nosedive wanted to know, "He's the one that got hit!"  
  
"That is Duke's way," Grin reminded him, "He's a very noble man. That's why he has such peace."  
  
*And that's why he did that…* Wildwing thought as they followed Tanya.  
  
Duke had obviously seen better days. He was lying on one of the infirmary beds, slightly propped up to make breathing easier. An IV disappeared under a bandage were the needle entered one of the main veins on his hand. His shirt was gone, revealing a large, white bandage with plenty of gauze under it. Even so, the bandage was slightly stained with a deep crimson. Just the same, he forced a smile when he saw his teammates come in, all seeming to be in perfect health.  
  
"He's got a deep gash and his sternum is cracked," Tanya reported, "He lost quite some blood, but not enough to need a donor. He'll heal in time."  
  
"Tanya told me you were all fine," Duke informed them, obviously struggling to breathe, "But I wanted to see for myself."  
  
"Well, our only problem was concern," Mallory told him, "But that's taken care of. You're obviously feeling yourself."  
  
"Just with an extra hole in my skin," he joked, trying not to laugh and cause himself pain. A few small chuckles went through the room from some of the others.  
  
"Duke, why did you do that?" Wildwing asked, making noise for the first time. "My armor could have protected me…"  
  
"No, it wouldn't have," Duke insisted, "That shot wasn't aimed at where your armor would deflect it. That's why I had to step in. It was part of the Brotherhood of the Blade's code long before I became its leader that we always protected the head of our group, even if it meant our own lives. Without a leader, a team is nothing."  
  
"I'm not a good leader," Wildwing sighed, "Canard made a mistake choosing me for this job. I can't even keep one of my own teammates from getting hurt."  
  
Duke's smile turned sour. He wasn't going to sit and listen to Wildwing bash at himself for what had happened.  
  
"You listen to me, Wildwing Flashblade," Duke started "Canard might not have had the gift of foresight, but something tells me that he knew he was going to be separated from us, and since he knew, he planned far ahead. He knew that you would be our leader. He even told me before we headed for Dragonus' headquarters that he wanted me to advise you and keep an eye on you if anything happened to him and you were forced to take over.  
  
"Canard was meant to leave us, just as you were meant to have the mask. And in the same way, I was meant to keep that shot from hitting you. It might not have killed you, but keep in mind that you are our leader, and if you were wounded it'd be that much more difficult for the rest of us, should something happen while you were out of commission. The team can get by without me for a while."  
  
The room was so quite that a pin could have dropped and startled everyone. No one knew just how to respond to Duke's pep-talk.  
  
To Wildwing, Duke suddenly seemed to be more filled with wisdom and experience than ever before. He knew what he was talking about, and he knew that he was right. So Canard had told Duke to keep an eye on him… That meant that while Wildwing felt that he had lost a dear friend and older brother, he had gained another one.  
  
"Alright everyone," Tanya started to scold, breaking the silence, "Duke needs to rest up. Come on, now, we'll all leave."  
  
The five healthy ducks bustled out of the room with Wildwing in the back of the line. As he walked out, he turned and looked at Duke. The older duck was obviously trying to sleep now, but the red dot that was his right eye let Wildwing know he wasn't sleeping just yet.  
  
"Thanks Duke," he whispered, "Thanks for everything. There's just one problem…"  
  
Duke opened both eyes and gave him a quizzical look.  
  
"I'm wondering how Phil's going react to one of his team members being out of commission."  
  
Duke laughed. "If it saves me from his stupid publicity stunts, who cares?"  
  
THE END…  
  
And the beginning…  
  
***  
  
Well, what did you think? Yeah, I spell "Dragaunus" a little differently, but unless that seriously bugs people I won't change it.  
  
And I think Tanya would be a good medical officer. I mean, she's a genius with machines, and what is the body but an organic machine?  
  
~~Kat Warrior 


End file.
